1998-10-01 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- In his last chance to decide the fate of legislation, Governor Pete Wilson vetoed dozens of bills yesterday, including a measure ordering health insurers to offer domestic-partner benefits to employers.

Wilson had until midnight to act on the remainder of the 950 bills sent to him by the Democratic-majority Legislature before it adjourned August 31.

The Republican governor, who leaves office in January, said no to bills that would have created a new system for reporting cases of HIV, spent $300 million to repair storm-damaged roads, and create minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios at hospitals, a move nurses said would make hospitals safer.

Wilson signed bills that allow creation of AIDS Awareness license plates, clear the way for a land transfer of state park property to San Francisco for a new 49ers stadium and provide more protection from abuse and neglect to California's 3.3 million seniors.

Wilson has never supported expanding health-care options for domestic partners. The bill he vetoed would have forced health insurers to offer the coverage, but not make employers buy it.

"This was just a bill about fairness and equity in the workplace, and I think the governor knows that in his heart," said Assemblywoman Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, the bill's author.

Wilson said that if he signed the bill, it would increase health insurance costs and that the question of domestic-partner health coverage is "more appropriately left to negotiations between employers and employees."

Wilson vetoed a second Migden bill, which would have created a statewide reporting system to document people with HIV -- but do so by using code numbers instead of names.

Local health authorities receive reports only of AIDS cases, not of people who contract HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Migden said her bill would have given health officials more accurate information on HIV cases while protecting the privacy of people who test positive for the virus.

In his veto, Wilson conceded that California is one of only nine states that do not track HIV. But he said that 30 other states use a name-based reporting system and that "irrational concerns over privacy should not interfere with what must be our highest priority, interrupting the chain of HIV transmission."

Wilson also vetoed a bill by Senator Quentin Kopp, independent- San Francisco, that would have poured $300 million into repairing roads damaged by last winter's storms. The nine Bay Area counties would have received $59 million of the money. However, Wilson said a better way to fix damaged roads is for state bureaucrats to change the state's highway building plan so it is more "mindful of storm-related needs."

Wilson also rejected the nurse staffing bill that had been backed by the California Nurses Association. The state currently sets minimum nurse-to-patient staffing levels for intensive or critical care units, but not in other areas of hospitals. Nurses argued that this places patients in danger.

In vetoing the nurses bill, Wilson said the regulations now in place "allow for an individual approach to staffing different hospital units based on the acuity of each patient's condition. Further requirements are redundant and unnecessary."

Bills faring better included a measure by Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, that allows creation of AIDS Awareness or "red ribbon" license plates. The plates will cost $50 to buy and $40 to renew. The money is to be deposited in a new AIDS research account and spent by the Legislature on research grants awarded by the University of California.

A second Burton bill signed by Wilson allows for negotiations between San Francisco and the state over transfering some 80 acres of the Candlestick Point State Recreation Area to the city for construction of a new 49ers stadium.

The bill, sought by San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, would use any money the state gets from ceding some of the 204-acre recreation area to the city to create more state parks in San Francisco.

Wilson improved security for seniors by signing a bill by Senator Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward, to beef up county adult protective services programs, which are charged with assisting the state's elderly.

The elderly are the fastest- growing segment of the state's population. The number of people older than 65 is expected to double to 6.6 million in the next 20 years.

Lockyer's bill requires all adult protective services agencies to create 24-hour hotlines, respond to all reports of abuse of the elderly, offer counseling to victims and provide emergency services like shelter or food.

Other bills signed by Wilson:

-- Make it a felony to knowingly expose an unaware person to HIV or AIDS through sexual contact.

-- Allow people to sue if they are videotaped, recorded or have their photo taken while engaging "in a personal or family activity in circumstances where they had a reasonable expectation of privacy." The bill is designed to protect people from paparazzi.

-- Allot $5 million for improvements to the Leland Stanford Mansion in Sacramento. Wilson wanted the historic site spruced up so future governors can use it for meetings, conferences and other ceremonial functions.

Wilson's other vetoes included bills that would have:

-- Required doctors, not HMO administrators, to decide whether a patient should receive a particular type of treatment.

-- Let employees use 50 percent of their sick leave to care for a sick child.

-- Reauthorized the state's can and bottle recycling program. The veto means fees on glass and plastic makers will increase from roughly $14 million a year to nearly $100 million.